Coronavirus: New York declares a state of emergency due to the risk of new cases of the omicron variant | Society

In New York State, 90% of the adult population has injected at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 68% have received the full regimen, but the threat of the highly contagious delta variant , and the massive displacements on the occasion of the Thanksgiving bridge have pushed the governor of the state, the democrat Katy Hochul, to declare a state of emergency as a preventive measure against the added risk of the arrival of the omicron variant. The mass displacement of Thanksgiving, the period with the most internal trips of the year in the United States, is closely watched by health authorities, although the New York declaration will not take effect until December 3. “We are not surprised that new variants are emerging and that they will probably end up in New York,” said Hochul.

Although deaths from coronavirus follow a decreasing trend, the sustained increase in the number of detected cases reached 33% in the last 14 days, hence the emergency measures decreed by the State. “So far, the new omicron variant has not been found in New York State. But we are on high alert. It’s coming, ”Hochul tweeted on Friday. “The Department of Health’s Wadsworth Center laboratory will continue to actively monitor selected COVID-19 samples throughout New York State to compare sequences and identify circulating and new variants,” it said in a statement.

The emergency declaration will allow the State to acquire supplies to fight the pandemic, increase hospital capacity and combat the possible shortage of personnel, in a sector whose functionality has been limited by the high number of voluntary dropouts. It would also allow the State Department of Health to limit non-essential and non-urgent procedures in hospitals in favor of a reinforcement of covid units.

News of the new omicron variant has rocked markets around the world, but the impact has been especially notable in the US The Dow Jones Index posted its worst performance in more than a year on precisely the most important day of the trading calendar. on Black Friday. The United States then seconded, along with Canada, Brazil and a large part of the countries of Europe, the prohibition of entry to its territory of travelers from southern Africa. President Joe Biden has been informed at noon this Saturday of the latest news about omicron, while the Health Administration and the White House covid response team have been monitoring the latest updates, in contact with their counterparts throughout the world.

In his statement Friday, Hochul again urged unimmunized New Yorkers to receive the puncture. “The vaccine remains one of our best weapons in the fight against the pandemic, and I encourage all New Yorkers to get vaccinated and booster shots if they are fully vaccinated,” he said.

The public network of hospitals in New York registered this Friday – almost a non-working day for many purposes as a result of the holiday bridge, with schools and Administration buildings closed – an infrequent activity, both in the immunization of the laggards and in the administration of the booster dose to the population over 18 years of age. The difficult thing, in New York, is not to get vaccinated, given the facilities that the city offers. A very different scenario from that of other states more reluctant to vaccination, such as Arizona, Indiana, Ohio, Wyoming or Idaho, which barely reach 50% immunization.